Norwegian Epic Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We've recently returned from a 7 day cruise in the Eastern Mediterranean aboard the Epic. I should state from the outset that our previous experience with Norwegian aboard the Star in the Baltic last year was quite awful, and we went to this cruise with some concern. This cruise was quite the opposite. There was little to fault and many aspects of our cruise experience were excellent.
We travelled to Barcelona a few days early and used the Hop On Hop Off service to see the city. This was an excellent choice as it gave us one day to appreciate the layout of the city and then one intensive day sightseeing. It proved to be very good value taking us to Sagrada Familia, Montjuic, Camp Nou and the central city sights around the Gothic Quarter, Las Ramblas and the Place Catalunya. We found the service very useful and would recommend to any cruisers who can spare the time to book a couple of days early. Our hotel at Medium City was very good and handy for the bus route at Estacio Saints.
As for the cruise itself, check in and embarkation worked well, although the check in desk staff would have benefitted from some happy pills! We had worried that with so many people embarking it could be rather crowded but this wasn't the case. It did take a little while for our cases to get to the cabin, but that wasn't a concern to us. The obligatory pre cruise safety chat was a bit of an eye opener with lots of people in the theatre. It did make us wonder how orderly an abandon ship might be!
Cabin Review
The cabins on Epic come as a bit of a surprise with a distinct impression that their curved walls have drawn influence from Antonio Gaudi. The curved foot of the bed does make the access to the opposite cabin narrow, but then again we're all friends in a cabin and we soon adjusted. The shower strikes as small on first impression but I have to say I had no difficulty fitting my 1m 87 frame in! The touch phone and TV to arrange reservations for restaurants, shows and excursions was a novelty to us but it worked very efficiently and saved time in queues. The balcony was a generous size and was welcome on arrival and departure from the various ports. Our cabin steward, Roderick, was excellent, keeping on top of the cabin presentation and any personal requests. In addition he had a quite original line in the usual array of towel sculptures!